European health officials said 266 confirmed cases and 58 suspected cases of Salmonella outbreaks related to chocolate Easter eggs have been reported in Europe and North America.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control states that 86.3 per cent of cases belong to children aged 10 and under, and that 41.3 per cent of cases for which information is available in Europe are referred to hospital and no died. reported.
Cases have been reported in 14 European countries in addition to Canada and the United States.
The EU agency still suspects a Belgian herb as the source of the disease.
The agency said the factory’s closure in April and the removal of its products from shelves around the world “reduced the risk of disease exposure, but new cases could arise because of the long shelf life. and the possibility of products being stored in homes. ”
Last April, food authorities in several European countries announced that Italian company Ferrero was recalling certain Kinder chocolate products, citing the suspected link between the products and a salmonella outbreak.
Two epidemic strains, both drug -resistant, were detected in 10 of 81 positive salmonella samples from the Belgian plant in December and January.
The agency said it continues to monitor the situation and encourages close cooperation with food safety authorities in the affected countries.
Source: AP
Source: Arabic RT
